NIDA-funded research exploring barriers to prescribing naloxone, a safe, easy-to-use drug that can prevent opioid overdose deaths, suggests that primary healthcare providers have limited knowledge about it, and have concerns about its misuse and safety. Other perceived barriers to naloxone prescribing included insufficient time during patient appointments, inability to follow up with patients, fear of offending patients, privacy issues, and concerns that patients would be less careful in their opioid use if they possessed a perceived “antidote” to overdose. Participants also had difficulty with the concept of prescribing opioids along with an overdose medication as this seemed to send the message that a patient should not be taking the prescribed opioids.

Because this study included a small sample (56 participants), more research is needed to determine if these knowledge gaps and attitudes are common among healthcare providers. However, these findings provide guidance for the development and testing of strategies to promote appropriate naloxone prescribing practices in primary care settings.

About the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world’s research on the health aspects of drug use and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy, improve practice, and advance addiction science. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs and information on NIDA research and other activities can be found at www.drugabuse.gov, which is now compatible with your smartphone, iPad or tablet. To order publications in English or Spanish, call NIDA’s DrugPubs research dissemination center at 1-877-NIDA-NIH or 240-645-0228 (TDD) or email requests to drugpubs@nida.nih.gov. Online ordering is available at drugpubs.drugabuse.gov. NIDA’s media guide can be found at www.drugabuse.gov/publications/media-guide/dear-journalist, and its easy-to-read website can be found at www.easyread.drugabuse.gov. You can follow NIDA on Twitter and Facebook.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.